Ben Simmons could be in for a big payday sooner rather than later.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers could offer Simmons a maximum contract once free agency starts Sunday at 6 p.m. ET: 

"Philly could justify paying a fourth option the max because [Tobias] Harris might not be a fourth option there forever. Things change fast in the NBA. It's not inevitable that Harris, [Jimmy] Butler, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons are all on the Sixers in two, or three, or whatever seasons. (Simmons is up for an extension, and that max deal could come fast once free agency starts, sources say.)"